Ipoh (Malaysia): The International Hockey Federation (FIH) will soon decide on the venue for this year's Junior World Cup in India and the choice has narrowed down to Bhubaneswar or Lucknow.
FIH President Leandro Negre said the governing body was in the final stages of making the decision on the host city of the Junior World Cup and the decision should come in a week's time.
"The choice of venue now seems to be between Bhubaneswar and Lucknow," Negre, who was in the Malaysian city for the ongoing 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, said on Friday.
Negre said the FIH had decided to institute a new international award in the memory of the late Sultan Azlan Shah, who was a respected figure in world hockey.
The late Sultan, who was president of the Asian Hockey Federation and a vice-president of the FIH, passed away in 2014. He started the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as a biennial event in 1983 and became an annual affair in 1998. It is the only international hockey event named after an individual.
Negre said the first Sultan Azlan Shah Award will be presented by the FIH at its Congress in Dubai this year.
New Delhi hosted the last Junior World Cup in 2013. The FIH has decided to advance the event by a year and host it in 2016.
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